Imax reveals European cinema expansion plan

Imax has struck a deal to more than double the number of its large screens in European cinemas run by the continent's biggest operator.AMC - which owns Odeon among other brands - plans to create 25 new Imax theatres over the next three years, about 10 ...

....Wall Street’s top regulator came under fire on Thursday about its cybersecurity and disclosure practices after admitting hackers had breached its database of corporate announcements in 2016 and may have used it for insider trading. The breach involved Securities and Exchange Commission’s Edgar filing system, which houses market-moving information with millions of filings ranging from quarterly earnings to statements on acquisitions. ...

....Securing live Premier League rights exclusively in 1992 was key to the very survival and subsequent success of BSkyB, and the game, with its crowds of loyal supporters, remains prime content for newer media companies seeking to build businesses on subscriptions. Last month Amazon outbid Sky, paying a reported £10m a year, for the UK rights to the ATP tennis tour, its first major live sport acquisition outside the US. ...

.... It had to pay £40m to settle two lawsuits brought against it for allegedly bribing a United Nations official to win contracts. Compass has kept its nose clean since then and risen to global leadership without flashy acquisitions. ...

....Drax Group’s Dorothy Thompson will be succeeded by Will Gardiner, currently the chief financial officer, who will take over in January at a time when the company is eyeing a mix of gas, biomass and battery power to replace coal. During her 12-year tenure, Thompson oversaw a period of major change, converting three of Drax’s huge coal-fired units to biomass and using acquisitions to expand into retail energy and gas power. ...

....Unilever chief executive Paul Polman argued that defending companies needed more time to audit detailed cost-savings set out by their potential owners. The acquisition of Cambridge-based technology firm ARM by Japan’s SoftBank last year also highlighted concerns over the loss of important British technology assets to overseas buyers. ...

.... Green owned BHS for 15 years, until he sold it to Chappell, a former bankrupt with no retail experience. Retail Acquisitions, the company he headed that made the acquisition, received up to £25m from BHS, despite owning the department store chain for just 13 months until it collapsed. ...

.... Two months after Schneider was installed as CEO in January, he put Nestlé’s US confectionery business, which includes brands like Baby Ruth and Butterfinger, on the block. For Nestlé, the acquisition of Blue Bottle adds to its multi-billion coffee holdings that includes Nestle and Nespresso and comes during a period of consolidation in the specialist coffee market. ...

....Ryanair is preparing a binding takeover bid for Italy’s bankrupt airline Alitalia but has no interest in the ailing German carrier Air Berlin, according to its chief executive, Michael O’Leary. O’Leary said the Irish firm was finalising the details of a deal that would be just the second major acquisition in the no-frills airline’s 33-year history. ...